Susan Magdalane Boyle was born
April 1, 1961 in Scotland. Few artists can truly
claim the 'rags to riches' story as much as Susan
Boyle. In 2009, Susan went from an unknown to having
one of the biggest selling LPs around the world by
the end of the year. She also represents another
common saying - 'don't judge a book by its cover' by
showing the world that presenting yourself as average
and somewhat socially ackward but then delivering
when it comes to a singing voice, can win over
millions of potential fans. Susan's journey to fame
began with taking a chance on the UK reality
competition program Britian's Got Talent at
her mother's urging. Susan ended up coming in second
in the competition, but with the trail she had begun
to blaze, it didn't matter.

Susan's appearance on the UK talent show Britain's
Got Talent and performance of "I Dreamed A
Dream" from Les Miserables aired
(recorded in January). The appearance began with
snickers from the audience at her appearance and the
manner in which she answered questions prior to
singing. But once she started singing, mouths
dropped, cheers began, and Susan received a roar from
the audience and the show's judges. Her performance
became an instant news item with millions of people
viewing her on YouTube and instantly becoming fans.

Susan topped the Billboard 200 LP chart and Internet
Albums chart with I
Dreamed A Dream selling over 701,000 copies its first
week of release in the US. The LP had the biggest
first week sales in the US for the year (beating out
the previous leader Eminem).
Susan topped the Canadian LP chart with I
Dreamed A Dream.
Susan's appearance on Britian's Got Talent
was the most viewed video clip of the year on YouTube
with over 120 million views. I
Dreamed A Dream was the #2 selling LP of the year
selling over 3.1 copies during the year in the US. I
Dreamed A Dream was the #1 selling LP of the year in
the UK. I
Dreamed A Dream was certified 3x platinum.

Note: Song title and position
links lead you to the song's Top 40 chart run
(from the ARC Weekly Top 40) and LP links take you to Amazon.com for that LP (often
including track listings and sound samples).